Wyeth To Appeal Arkansas Hormone Therapy Trial Verdicts

MADISON, N.J., March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) confirmed today that it will appeal the verdicts in the case of Donna Scroggin v. Wyeth, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, beginning with post-trial motions.

"There is no basis in fact or law for this award or for the earlier compensatory damage award. We will pursue several post-trial motions and will ultimately appeal the entire case if necessary. We are confident in our position on appeal," says Lyn P. Pruitt, an attorney with Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC, a firm representing Wyeth in the case.

On February 25, 2008, the jury awarded the plaintiff $2.75 million in compensatory damages against Wyeth and co-defendant Upjohn. After a second phase of the trial, the jury subsequently awarded $19,360,000 in punitive damages against Wyeth and $7,760,000 against Upjohn.

Of the six other cases that have gone to trial and reached resolution, four resulted in judgments for Wyeth, one resulted in a plaintiff's judgment, while the other was remanded for a new trial. Four other cases set for trial were dismissed by courts on summary judgment and a dozen other trial-set cases have been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiffs before trial.

The first phase of the trial began on February 5, 2008 before The Honorable William R. Wilson. The second phase began on March 3, 2008. The plaintiff alleged that she developed breast cancer from the use of Premarin(R) and Prempro(R), products marketed by Wyeth.

Premarin (conjugated estrogens tablets USP) and Prempro (conjugated estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate tablets) are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective when used as indicated.

About Wyeth

Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and nonprescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, and Fort Dodge Animal Health.

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include risks associated with the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of product research, development and commercialization (including with respect to our pipeline products), drug pricing and payment for our products by government and third- party payors, manufacturing, data generated on the safety and efficacy of our products, economic conditions including interest and currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in generally accepted accounting principles, the impact of competitive or generic products, trade buying patterns, global business operations, product liability and other types of litigation, the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance, intellectual property rights, strategic relationships with third parties, environmental liabilities, and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K, particularly the discussion under the caption "Item 1A, Risk Factors." We assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

SOURCE Wyeth